Saturday, April 9, 2016

Now it's
time for part two of the headphone shootout and the over the ear models. They
consist of Kingston HyperX Revolver, the Kenwood KH-KR900, Blue Lola, and
Audio-Technical ATH-A1000Z. They range from $129 to $399, with $129 for the
Kingston,$219 for Kenwood, $249 for Blue, and $399 for the Audio-Technica.

The Kingston HyperX Revolver is actually a gaming headset,
that doubles as a standard over the ear headphones. The mic is detachable. The
attached cable is a standard cable. Then there is a second cable that attaches
to the attached cable. This extends the cable length for sitting back from the
TV, and it also has mic mute switch, to mute the mic wherever you need to have
a conversation with someone else in the room.
At least this is what I thought initially, which turned out not to be
the case. The second cable with the
built-in mic mute and volume switch is for PC gaming. For XBox One, the cable will plug in to the
controller. In order to have control of
the volume at your fingers, you would need an adapter that connects between the
Revolver headset and the controller.

The
Kingston HyperX Revolver came shipped in a nice looking box and cut out insert
to protect the Revolver. Included in the box was the owners manual, detachable
mic, second cable with the mic switch, and the headset. Materials used in the
construction were good, and the quality of construction and the fit and finish
was even better! These looked like they should have been priced more. And they were very well made, which is a good
thing based on the amount of time gamers tend to, well.....game! But, how do they sound?

David
Bowie: Let's Dance, had nice depth, impact and authority in the kick drum. The knocker
sounded woody and revealed a wide soundstage and good imaging. Vocals were
natural, percussion was crisp and dynamic. Journey: Don't Stop Believing, keyboard
sounded natural, vocals were very natural with great texture and detail, the size
of soundstage surprised me, throwing a large and wide soundstage! Percussion
had good dynamics, kick drum had good depth. Also Sprach Zerathustra, very good
low end extension as well as output. Brass was smooth and not overly brassy.
Nice impact in the tympani, with nice big soundstage. Junior Wells: Why Are
People Like That, really nice low end extension in the bass that also played
with authority. Vocals were very natural with good texture. The harmonica was
nice and clean with good dynamics. Gershwin: Rhapsody In Blue, clarinet was
really natural sounding with enough resolution that you could hear their
breathing technique. Brass sounded smooth, piano sounded natural, and bassoon
had nice depth and texture. They threw a big soundstage, and imaging was good.

Kenwood
is fairly new to the headphone industry. They have a couple different models.
What they included in the shootout is their top of the line KH-KR900, that has
a MSRP of $219. Kenwood has made excellent car stereo components for decades.
Having a lot of experience with their quality car audio gear, we naturally
jumped at the opportunity to include this model in our Headphone Shootout.

Features
and specs:

·Driver:
40mm

·Magnet:
Neodymium

·Frequency Response: 7 - 28,000Hz

·Impedance: 32 ohms

·Sensitivity: 102dB/1mW

·Max Input: 1000mW (IEC)

·Cord Length: 3.94ft (1.2m)

·Weight:
7.05oz (200g)

·Remote + Mic: Yes

·Plug:
iPhone compatible, gold plated

·Accessories: Detachable cable, Carry Pouch

The
Kenwood came in a nice looking printed box with photos of the product and
it's specs I like the fact that it also had a clear plastic window on one side
so you can see the actual product. And they were well protected, held in a
custom molded plastic insert. Materials used were mostly plastic,
with some metal. Quality of materials used were very good, as was the fit
and finish. They were also fairly light weight, which would be nice for long listening
periods.

I also
liked the design of the Kenwood KH-KR900. The sides of the earcups swivel,
which is popular DJ feature. This allows you to hear the music, as well as
those around you. At a price of over $200, they can be considered by some as an
investment. The use of detachable cables I feel is a huge selling point,
that way if you get a short in the cable, all you are replacing is the
cable. The styling of the outside of the
earcups reminded me of the styling of some of their car amps. The real question though is if they sound as
well.

David
Bowie: Let's Dance, keyboard sounded natural, vocals sounded natural with good
timbre and texture, soundstage was big, kick drum had good depth and output. Journey:
Don't Stop Believing, keyboard sounded natural, vocals were natural with nice
texture and harmonics. Percussion had very
good dynamics, kick drum had very good depth and played with authority. Also Sprach
Zerathustra, had really nice ultra deep base with really good output. Brass was
smooth with good resolution and a big soundstage. Tympani had nice dynamics and
impact. Junior Wells:Why Are People Like That, showed nice deep bass with good
output and authority. The vocals were smooth with really nice timbre and
texture. The harmonica had nice dynamics with crisp harmonics and good
resolution. Gershwin: Rhapsody In Blue, clarinet was very natural and smooth
with very good resolution to hear the breathing technique. Brass was smooth,
clean and not too brassy. The bassoon had nice texture and depth. Piano was
very natural sounding, with great dynamics. They throw a big soundstage.

Next up
is the Blue Lola. Last year Blue came out with the Mo-Fi. They were a big hit
among audiophiles, especially with the built in amp. Now, Blue is expanding
their line up with the Lola. The Blue Lola has all of the unique features of
the Blue Mo-Fi, only with no headphone amp built in, and lack of headband
tension adjustment. The lack of these feature has resulted in a price drop from
$349 to only $249. On paper, this is an extremely aggressive price point given
the features. We'll see how they actually perform.

Features and
specs:

Type and Size: 50mm fiber-reinforced dynamic driver

Impedence: 42 ohms

Frequency
Response: 15-20,000 Hz

Enclosure
Details: Sealed enclosure with tuned
damping material

Weight: 397 g

The Blue
Lola came in a great looking box, with photos of the product and it's specs.
The materials used in the construction was actually mostly metal, with some
plastic. Quality of materials used was very good, and the fit and finish was
excellent! The Blue Lola is a premier product, and built like a tank! Also
included in with the Blue Lola is the owners manual, soft carry bag, and longer
cable.

I love
the design of the Blue Lola. Starting with the Blue Mo-Fi, they started
from the ground up in designing a headphone. And the design, especially the
headband, was totally out of the box thinking. It allows you to not just
adjust the fit, but also the tension. All of this is done by incorporating a
lot of metal arms and joints. This makes it not only well adjustable, but very
sturdy in build, so it should be able to last a very long time. The Blue Mo-Fi performed so well last year, I
was excited to see how the Lola would sound.

David
Bowie: Let's Dance, kick drum had very good depth and had good output. Knockers
showed a huge soundstage, percussion was crisp with really good resolution,
vocals were natural with great texture. Journey: Don't Stop Believing, keyboard
sounded extremely natural and detailed, vocals were silky smooth with excellent
texture and harmonics. The soundstage was really big, and imaging was spot on. Also
Sprach Zerathustra, really nice clean ultra deep bass, with very good
authority. Silky smooth brass with nice detail without being too brass, and
throws a big soundstage. Tympani had nice impact. Junior Wells: Why Are People
Like That, bass had really good depth and authority. Vocals were silky smooth
with excellent resolution and timbre. Harmonica was smooth, really clean, and
very dynamic. Percussion was crisp with good resolution. Gershwin: Rhapsody In
Blue, clarinet was very clean and smooth with good texture and woodiness from
the reed. Brass was also smooth without being too brassy. Piano sounded very
natural. Bassoon had excellent depth and air. Imaging was excellent as was the
soundstage big.

Last but not least is the Audio-Technica ATH-A1000Z.
Audio-Technica is known for providing excellent quality headphone, for a big
bang for the buck. With the increase in popularity of the newer Hi-res audio
format, it was time for an update. Audio-Technica is starting to redo their lineup with new Hi-res audio
compatible models. Up for review today is one of those new models, the ATH-A1000Z.

The
Audio-Technica ATH-A1000Z came in a great looking glossy colored box with
photos of the product and it's specs. Materials used in the construction is
mostly metal, with some plastic. The quality of materials used was very
good, as was the fit and finish. The ATH-A1000Z is a premium product, as
you can tell. It can be seen in the metal earcup backs, in the thick cable, and
even the metal connectors on the end. Also included in the box was the manual,
and a 1/4 " adapter. So far so good,
but just how good do they sound?

David
Bowie: Let's Dance, Kick drum had very good depth and played with good
authority. Percussion was very crisp, clean dynamic. Knockers had detail and
woodiness, and revealed a huge soundstage. Vocals were extremely natural with
great timbre. Journey: Don't Stop Believing, keyboard was extremely natural
with really good resolution. Vocals were palpable in resolution and very
natural with great harmonics. Percussion was crisp and dynamic with nice depth
in the kick drum. Soundstage was huge. Also Sprach Zerathustra, nice really
deep bass that could be heard, brass was smooth and really crisp and clean with
excellent harmonics and no audible coloration, throwing a wide soundstage.
Tympani had really good impact with resolution to hear the pad being pounded.
Junior Wells: Why Are People Like That, bass had nice low end extension with
good output. Vocals were lifelike in detail and resolution, and had plenty of
texture. Harmonica was extremely dynamic with excellent harmonics. Gershwin:
Rhapsody In Blue, clarinet was extremely natural with so much resolution you
could fairly easily hear things like the breathing technique, it's woodiness,
and the nice air from the clarinet. Brass was crisp, clean, with nice detail.
Piano was also extremely natural, with excellent resolution to be able to hear
the striking of the keys. Imaging was very accurate and the low level harmonics
as well as dynamics were striking.

We had some excellent
contenders in the over the ear models this year. And the competition was pretty fierce! For a gaming headset, the Kingston HyperX
Revolver was a complete redesign for Kingston to have studio grade sound. And they hit it out of the park! I was not expecting the sound to be this good
at their price point. They did
everything very well, and sound like a significantly higher priced headphone. Kenwood showed just how strong their audio
roots are in their excellent product of the KH-KR900. Overall they had very good bass output and
authority, yet were not lacking in the detailed mids and clean highs. Blue took things to a higher level with their
Lola. The soft earpads fully engulfed
the ears, providing a great seal, allowing all of their resolution to come out
in spades. And the all metal headband
was built like a tank! I did notice that the drivers did seem to be more power
hungry, as the volume was noticeably lower than the other models when listening
to the same track. If you like your
music really loud, they would benefit from a portable headphone amp if
listening to them on the go. I like my
music a bit on the loud side. When
listening to them thru my iPod, they were plenty loud enough for me, but I also
had the volume up all the way. Last but
not least are the Audio-Technica ATH-A1000Z.
Audio-Technica has an excellent product on their hands! I could tell that it was a redesign for the
new Hi Res Audio, as the resolution was stellar all around. Highs were crisp and clean, and mids were
smooth. While the bass output was a bit shy of the output I tend to like, the bass
did play low and deep with sufficient authority. Based on their design, features, quality, and
performance, the Kingston HyperX Revolver and Kenwood KH-KR900 have earned our
Highly Recommended Award. The Blue Lola
and Audio-Technica ATH-A1000Z have earned our Editor's Choice Award. For more info and complete specs, check out
their website at www.kingston.com, www.kenwood.com, www.blue-headphones.com,
and www.audio-technica.com.